A recent study is making headlines by showing just how fast switching to a healthier diet can positively impact your health.

When researchers at the University of Pittsburgh conducted a diet swap between 20 Americans and 20 Africans for two weeks, they were able to see noticeable differences in the health panels of all subjects who participated in the study.

Americans, who on average consume a diet high in fat with frequent burgers and fries, swapped their meals for the traditional cuisine of Africans, which is higher in fiber and lower in fat.

“In as little as two weeks, a change in diet from a Westernized composition to a traditional African high-fibre, low-fat diet reduced these biomarkers of cancer risk, indicating that it likely never too late to modify the risk of colon cancer.”

Said Associate Professor Amanda Salis of Sydney University’s Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise, and Eating Disorders, “I found it very encouraging that just to weeks of dietary changes for the better can bring about changes in health markers that indicate improvements.”

Stalis did warn, however, that for the health benefits to stick around, the changes need to become a habit.

“As for the negative effects, it is always a case that those dietary changes need to be sustained long-term for the changes in health to translate to long-term benefits.”